


Plane to See

by Banjkaz



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Breaking Up & Making Up, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22726678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Banjkaz/pseuds/Banjkaz
Summary: Asahi loves Noya. But he's worried about the uncertainty of his own future and is terrified to drag Noya into the abyss with him.It only makes sense to set him free...doesn't it...?
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu
Comments: 10
Kudos: 46





	Plane to See

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mal_the_sponge](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mal_the_sponge/gifts), [azunshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/azunshi/gifts).

> I saw an adorable post this week that made me just want to spin it into AsaNoya. Thank you to Mal and Farah for encouraging me to finish this little valentine's drabble! <3

The silence that hung between them as they plodded through the airport was thick and stifling, and Noya hated every second of it. 

He was returning to America after three months of visiting Asahi in Japan; they'd met during Asahi's study abroad program last year and made a fast connection from day one. Noya knew that - until the day he died - he would carry the memory of their first meeting at that little coffee shop by campus. He'd never forget the look on Asahi's face when the poor man realized that in his jetlagged exhaustion he had briefly forgotten how to speak English and had instead given a relatively complicated coffee order in Japanese instead. 

Even more importantly, he would never forget the look of relief on Asahi's face when Noya swooped in and called out to him in Japanese that he would help. 

Their relationship had grown since then, two kindred hearts finding each other despite all odds. They'd spent countless evenings together: cooking, doing homework (mostly just Asahi doing that though), playing games, cuddling, and - Noya's favorite - talking the entire night through about their dreams and the future. More than once they'd still been awake at sunrise and smiled at each other with all of the love in the world despite their exhaustion. 

Even after Asahi returned to Japan, Noya promised to visit. He spent that summer working his ass off to earn enough money for a ticket to stay long term. His final required classes wouldn't open until the spring so he arranged to stay with Asahi that fall. 

And things had been going amazingly well. 

_ Had.  _

He glanced up as he placed his bag on the scale, trying to catch Asahi's eye and failing. His stomach sank as he realized that this truly was it - Asahi couldn't even look at him right now. Noya hollowly thanked the ticket agent for their help and followed Asahi towards the security line. 

They'd been over this yesterday, and clearly both men were still feeling raw. Noya tried to pretend he didn't see Asahi's shoulders shaking as they approached the end of the line. 

Last night Asahi had tearfully admitted that he was terrified of what would happen after school.

_ “I love you so much, Noya,”  _ he'd whispered in a voice thick with tears. “ _ But I have no idea if there's a future for me like this. I'm looking at  _ fashion.  _ They're going to eat me alive until I can -  _ if _ I can - establish myself. And…” He turned away as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. “I can't drag you down with me like that. You deserve so much more than uncertainties.” _

Noya knew that Asahi really and truly believed that with all of his heart. And even though his own was breaking, he forgave Asahi and said he understood. 

Asahi looked down at Noya. “...I'm going to miss you so much,” he murmured. 

Noya took a deep breath. What could he say?  _ Don't leave me, Asahi. Don't let “us” end like this. Let me face the unknown  _ with  _ you; you don't have to break up with me to protect me from it - _

Instead he smiled sadly up at Asahi. “I'm gonna miss you,” he agreed. 

There was an achingly long moment where Noya debated whether or not he should continue. But he was never a believer in letting his feeling pass like this. “Asahi. ...if you change your mind...you know that I'm here.”

For a moment Noya thought Asahi would take him up on it. His beautiful brown eyes were  _ screaming  _ that he wanted to. Even if Noya still had to leave now, they would be parting as a couple, everything could be just the way it was -

But Asahi bit his lip and glanced away, and Noya’s heart sunk as Asahi's hair fell into his face. “...you're very sweet,” he finally said. “And I will  _ always _ care about you. But please, Nishinoya - live your life.”

_ Without me.  _

_ I'm not good enough for you.  _

Noya seized Asahi in one last tight hug, childishly wishing that he could cling to Asahi like a koala and refuse to let go. But with how long the lines were, he knew he had to and he slowly uncurled his fingers from Asahi's jacket. 

“...thanks, Asahi. For everything.” He barely recognized his own voice, tight and pained. 

Asahi hesitated before leaning down and pressing one last gentle kiss to Noya's forehead. “Thank you, too,” he managed to choke out. 

When their fingers slipped apart for the last time, Asahi had to turn away. He was the one being selfish, holding on so long and letting Noya think that Asahi was worthwhile. Worth coming all this way for. 

He made the agonizing lonely walk back to the car park, just able to keep his emotions in check. Asahi pushed away all thoughts of Noya, focusing instead on each step forward. When even that failed to keep him grounded, he resorted to counting pebbles as he walked. 

He unlocked his car and slowly sank into the drivers’ seat. He started the engine and plugged his phone into the jack - it was low on charge. The screen lit up; the picture of Noya caught his eye and stole his breath. 

And then Asahi began to sob. 

It was one of his favorites: Noya standing on the balcony of Asahi's tiny apartment, backlit by the rising sun. Asahi remembered it being after one of their talks where they'd been up all night, and Noya looked beautiful even as tired as he clearly was. His hair hung in his face, slightly limp from the gel wearing out, and it gave him a soft look. He smiled at Asahi behind the camera with all the love in the world playing across his face. 

Asahi's lip trembled as the past year of their relationship played through his mind with the speed of a whirling storm. All the ups, the downs, the laughs, the tears, and the love. 

His hand gripped the car key and he sharply turned it towards himself. It was clear now what he had to do. 

…

Noya shoved his carry-on bag under the seat in front of him. There were snacks, magazines, and his Switch stashed in there for the agonizingly long flight, but he didn't care about any of them right now. 

It was foolish to hope he could have changed Asahi's mind. If there was one thing he knew about Asahi, it was his need for certainty. And with his future so nebulous, it was no wonder he was scared. Noya could hardly blame him for that. He just wished Asahi hadn't decided it was best for him to take that entire burden on himself and to “protect” Noya from the unknown. 

Noya turned and stared out the window, watching the ground crew scurry to load bags into the plane. He was tearing up hard now and he tried to shove it down as he sensed his seatmate sitting down and getting comfortable. The last thing they'd want to deal with on a fourteen hour flight was a crying stranger and he needed to pack away his own hurt for now.

A hand landed on his arm and Noya’s head whipped to the side in shock. He really wasn't up to handling small talk right now, not when his heart was being crushed because of -

His eyes blew wide as he gaped at the person sitting beside him. “...Asahi…?”

Asahi faced him down, eyes still wet and face red. The puffiness around his eyes told Noya he'd been crying, and the redness indicated how hard he'd been crying. But his chest heaved too, and it hit Noya that he'd  _ run _ . 

“I - I'm sorry, I couldn't find a better bag and I had to run,” he stammered out helplessly, and Noya's gaze darted down to the adorable Shinjo-kun bag that looked to be stuffed to the brim with FAA-approved toiletries. “I almost didn't make it and I - ”

“Wait a second!” Noya interrupted, still processing. “Asahi - what are you  _ doing _ here?”

Asahi took a breath and reached for Noya's hand. “I realized that you were right,” he said quietly. “And I realized that I  _ was  _ being selfish - but not because I ‘led you on’ or anything. I was selfish because I decided what was best for you without asking you.”

Noya's stomach was somewhere around his toes now. “...Asahi,” he said quietly. “Are you telling me you want to stay together?”

Stars were born and died in the second it took for Asahi to swallow and nod. “I do,” he whispered. “I didn't even stop to think. Once I knew I wanted to be with you I had to just run and find you.” He glanced away and sheepishly fiddled with his hair. “And, um, grab a few things. It might be a while before I have the money to buy more clothes once we get there, with how expensive this ticket is.”

It wasn't until that moment that it truly dawned on Noya that Asahi had, completely on impulse,  _ bought a ticket to America.  _ He spat in the face of every uncertainty and flipped them off as he sprinted through security, to stay with Noya.

Noya must have stayed quiet a beat too long because Asahi’s grin turned a bit shameful. “I hope you meant it when you said I could change my mind,” he said, “or this might be an awkward flight…”

“Of  _ course  _ I meant it!” Noya shouted, before quickly lowering his voice at a sharp hiss from a few rows up. “But - what about your job?!”

Asahi blinked and pulled out his phone before scrolling through it for a number and dialing. It rang for a few beats before someone picked up. “Hi, Daichi? It's Asahi. ...uh huh. Well, um, yes, it's about the shift you offered to cover for me tonight. Could you still?”

Noya remembered Daichi offering a few days ago when he realized it was the day Noya was leaving. But Asahi had quietly promised to show up regardless. 

“Thank you,” Asahi said with a relieved smile. “Oh, and please consider this to be my notice. I'm sorry I couldn't do it at a better time.”

Daichi’s confused voice filtered through and Asahi answered. “Yes. I'm on a plane. I'm going back to America with Nishinoya.”

Okay, yeah, Daichi was  _ definitely _ yelling something. But somehow neither Asahi nor Noya thought it was any kind of serious and Asahi smiled. 

“I have to go,” he said. “I'm putting my phone into airplane mode. Please apologize to Suga for me too, and I'll let you know when I get there.”

He hung up, turned off his phone, and smiled at Noya. “Thank you for reminding me,” he said. “I nearly forgot to give notice.”

It was so lovably  _ Asahi  _ that Noya began to laugh, again drawing the irritation of people around them. But who cared? Asahi - who was cautious of risks, and who always looked before he leapt - had just essentially uprooted his entire life in twenty minutes to fly across the world with Noya,  _ not even knowing if Noya would take him back.  _

And as far as he was concerned, he thought as he curled his fingers around Asahi's wrist and pulled him in for a sweet kiss, that was the best leap that he'd ever made. 


End file.
